Two former Parramatta Eels players are accused of harbouring semi-automatic weapons and possessing more than half-a-million dollars in cash after dramatic arrests in Sydney's Centennial Park yesterday.

An American law enforcement official told Reuters they were happy to finally have Guzmen headed toward US soil, but said the timing could have been better considering it coincided with Donald Trump's presidential inauguration.

A Mexican judge approved Guzmen's extradition in May last year on the condition he would not be giving the death penalty, but the move was suspended a month later after Guzmen’s legal team launched an appeal to block the transfer.

He is expected to face a string of charges including drug trafficking, murder, money laundering and conspiracy.

Guzman had been most recently held in a prison near the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez.

Authorities had taken extra security precautions to ensure the cartel leader did not make another escape after his loyal followers built a ventilated tunnel into the prison to aid his last escape.

He evaded authorities for a decade after breaking out of another prison in 2001.